i've spent countless hours sitting on the floor under the table with her. once she does the intial growl she'll stop (but as soon as you leave her sight, then go back, she'll give off one lil growl). i think my arm almost fell off trying to hold it up to her to get close enough to touch her. my back still hurts from sitting in akward positions all day yesterday. she makes no effort to move towards or away from me. when i was reaching my hand towards her she didnt pull away until i actually touched her snout the 2 times.

she won't eat anything if someone is in the kitchen with her. not her food, not treats, not the ham (which, btw, she just ate).

the first few times we tried to reach out to her she'd reach her head out and give a quick sniff but she doesnt even do that anymore. so in some ways it seems we're getting somewhere, but others it seems like we're going the wrong way

robr, first thing, Welcome!! second, get in touch with the rescue and tell them to get their butts out to your house immediately.. this dog should have never left the "rescue" where she came from. how long was she in foster care? i am a couple of towns away from you. i can come out and assess her, but fromwhat you are describing you got a bum deal from this so called rescue. if its spartan rescue from fairfield, they are fairly new and i am not too thrilled with their email address either. pit bulls are to NEVER growl at a human . EVER.. please pm me immediately.

Have you tried getting her treats or toys to show her that you want to be playful? And maybe talking in a soft nice baby like voice. It sounds dumb..but it could help her to see that you are a nice person.

Also, another word of advice...Don't act scared. Any dog can sense fear in a person. I wouldn't try to reach for her or touch her anymore unless she comes to you. Just talk to her nicely and show her that you are harmless.

welcome
The first pit(we think she is a pit) we got last year(one in the avitar) did the same thing.
It took me for ever to bring her around.Ok about two weeks, we talked to her gave her treats she just kept growling! then she attacked my chocolate I thought my husband was going to have her put down. But I talked him out of it,to make a long storey short, it has been about eight months and constsant treats and praise and ignoring her and she has improved so much. I can now hold her play with her my kids lay all over her, it's been a long haul for all of us but Isis has turned out to be awesome.( Isis was badly beaten as a pup, she just needed to trust humans again. Since then we have gotten two more baby pits that where going to be put down! The lady we got them from was affraid of all this bsl.Isis is still a little jealous of the chocolate but they all live together and the chocolate is the queen.
good luck with your dog hope it works out for you.

well, not so good news - she was very rambuncious (did i spell that right?) last night and did some rearranging of the house. i thought it was kind fo cute, and seeing that she didnt run from me this morning, in fact she followed me down the hallway, i thought she let off the steam she needed. didnt want to psuh it so i fed her and left for work. get home from work just now and she greats me at the door. great! no growling, no looking scared, no poop on the florr, nothing. i reach my hand down to pet her - still no growling, in fact she walked toward me - and...now i am the proud bearer of a band-aid (and, yes she does have all current shots).

so needless to say, once my roommate gets home in a few hours he's making a phone call. such a beautiful dog though

I am soo sorry that this is how you are intro'd to pits. Largely, this is not normal. Sadly, it's definitely never acceptable. I realize she's gorgeous, and it's heartbreaking because it's not her fault. I hope your roommate does the right thing for her and you, and all of us. I do not suggest taking her bakc to this rescue and assuming they will do the right thing. They obviously cannot be trusted to do the right thing or they wouldn't have sent her out yet.

I also hope your roommate reconsiders whether he is ready for a dog right now, since he was willing to abandon his brand new rescue after having had her for 12 hours. I'm not saying he's a totally irresponsible dog owner, but that was a really bad decision. Maybe he will decide he's not ready to settle down or that he is ready and actually do it.

My pits send their love and kisses (lots of kisses) and thank you whole-heartedly for caring so much for the welfare of a dog that is not even yours. Please consider that this dog is not a good example of the breed and she will be in a better place. You did everything you could to make her life better and the entire pitbull community is grateful. Thank you.

:wallbang: very good posting Sanya!!! all i have to say is i am sorry this happened... of course, we all dont know what your roommate will do when he gets home. lets hope he does the right thing... if you need me for anything call me.